FROM THE STREETS OF TEHRAN: IRANIAN STREETSTYLE

06 September 2014

Forget New York, the real fashion this week can be found in the capital of Persia....

So, this post was supposed to go up a few days ago, right as I was saying that I have finally resolved to stick to a strict, every-other-day schedule of posting. We all know that I'm unreliable when it comes to timing (you can thank my Persian roots for that), but this time, I have a real excuse--last-minute packing and flying across the world took a bit longer than expected. Yes, *sigh* I am back to the unbearable heat, piercingly loud cicadas (were they always this loud!?), and over-sized fried food that is Oklahoma, USA. (Psst this doesn't mean I'm finished with my post from Iran--still have a travel guide, more photos, and lessons learned coming your way!).

Anywhoo, as promised, here is a bit of Iranian streetstyle straight from the streets of Tehran, Iran! As I mentioned in my (everyday) outfit post from Iran, women in Iran wear a headscarf and manteau, or a long, light jacket that covers your backside. Most of the men that I saw were wearing some sort of button-up, usually lightly patterned. Iranians mostly dress up when leaving the house--I have not yet seen anyone on the streets in sweats, and very few without makeup.

As you can see from the photos, the dress codes in Iran (whether you agree with them or not) are far from hindering personal expression exuding through fashion.

Update (2016): We just published the first-ever collection of in-print fashion photography from Tehran, Iran! What a way we came from this post. Check it out here.

This is really eye-opening Ms. Hoda! Why is the #ootd game so strong in Iran? Dang. Also. I casually died at "I have yet to see anyone on the streets in sweats" because from time to time I live in sweat pants! This is too awesome yo thanks for sharing! :D

The fashion game is definitely on-point in Iran! hahaha yes, there are definitely strong fashion taboos in Iran! I don't wear makeup myself and always felt like a young child! Glad you liked the photos, and thank you for reading! xx

Oooh, the street style there is definitely something that intrigues me - and impresses me! I really love the style from these photos. I'll have to check out this blog :)

And thanks for the kind words! Haha, I definitely haven't forgotten my independent post :) It just makes me sad to lose a friend...sigh. Ah well, life moves forward, and it's best to have your true (and fake) friends revealed early on!

Erp having a bit of technical difficulties with the comments--new comments can be posted, but old comments are, for the time being, not visible. We're working on fixing this soon, thank you for your patience!

The fashion game is definitely on-point in Iran! hahaha yes, there are definitely strong fashion taboos in Iran! I don't wear makeup myself and always felt like a young child! Glad you liked the photos, and thank you for reading! xx

Ohhh, yay!!! I've been so excited about this post!!! I do have a question, though. I know it's mandatory for women to cover their hair in Iran, but many of the photos about have lots of hair sticking out. Is that allowed, or must the head covering cover ALL of the hair? I've read your post about head coverings and the hijab, and how some women choose to wear theirs like that, I was just wondering about this in terms of women in Iran specifically.

Also--that bag in the bottom right-hand corner in the grid--that pattern looks just like the stuff in Morocco! Pretty sure I almost bought a rug that looked like that. :) And very interesting that the men dress up so nicely. Oh, how I wish that trend could be brought over to the Midwest...

Once again, thank you for sharing, and I look forward to your upcoming posts!!!

Ah, great question! In Iran, the law is simply to cover your hair--an amount, exactly, has not been specified (as far as I know). As most women in Iran show quite a bit of hair in public, this has become rather mainstream in Iranian fashion, and, for the most part, you will not be stopped/ticketed. Only in some cases, when the women's makeup is v e r y excessive, she is wearing very short and tight clothing, AND most of her hair is showing might she be stopped. And again, this doesn't always happen. There is some degree of chance, as well.Personally, I wore shorter clothes than most of the other women, but on the other side of that a lot less hair was showing and I don't wear makeup at all, so I wasn't stopped because of my dress code. The same goes for the hijab.Let me know if that made no sense, ahah c;

And yes! I know when I saw those bags in Iran I first thought of Morocco! But Iranians have a very similar traditional design that they also put on bags, shoes, etc.

Haha as for men dressing up--indeed! I wish this could come to the USA, as well aha. Most men in Iran actually wore tucked-in button-down shirts + a nice belt + pants. It was definitely refreshing!

P.S. Hehe thank you for sharing such beautiful articles! This one was written so kindly and warmly! Makes me want to go back.....

Can I just say, thank you for this post. People never see this side of our culture. It really is especially beautiful and creative how these women work around the Hijab, religion does not limit individuality and this is a perfect example of that.

YOU'RE IRANIAN!? AH welcome to the blog, azizam! I love meeting Iranians in the blogging world! (you automatically have found a new reader in me, hahaha). And yes, actually, that is one reason that I made this blog JooJoo Azad--no one knows anything about Iran or Islam, and I think it's particularly important to understand, especially in the current political climate, the realities of these! Merci for dropping by khanum Gashtasbi! ;)

You are just amazing aren't you?! I will definitely be keeping in touch. I have a travel diary coming up from the 6 months I spent in Iran last year so look out for that. Also I've been looking to do some posts about the 'new school' Iran, so I will definitely be in touch to run some ideas by you :) Take care my love xxx